Shawn Kemp

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Medal record
Competitor for  United States
World Championships
Gold	1994 Canada	National team

Shawn T. Kemp (born November 26, 1969, in Elkhart, Indiana) is an American professional basketball player, formerly in the National Basketball Association.

[edit] Early years

Kemp attended Concord High School in Elkhart, Indiana. After graduation, Kemp signed a national letter-of-intent to play basketball at the University of Kentucky. However, he was kicked off the team before the season started for allegedly pawning a necklace belonging to teammate Sean Sutton. He transferred mid-season to Trinity Valley Community College in Texas, but was too late to suit up for the squad. Later, it was determined^[who?] that Sutton had lost the necklace to Kemp in a card game. After a semester at TVCC, 19-year-old Shawn Kemp declared himself eligible for the 1989 NBA Draft without any collegiate experience.

The Seattle SuperSonics drafted Kemp in the first round of the 1989 NBA Draft and he quickly became a force to be reckoned with. Kemp was one of the NBA's premier high flyers with outstanding leaping abilities. At the time, he was the youngest player in the NBA. Half-court lob passes from Gary Payton to Kemp became a regular sight to see. Together with Payton, Detlef Schrempf, Sam Perkins, Hersey Hawkins, and other stars, they became a highly successful squad. After Kemp's second NBA season, he picked up the nickname "Reign Man" after Sonics announcer Kevin Callabro saw a poster with the name and found it fitting to add to his radio broadcasts. Conflicting accounts attribute this to his love of the Seattle weather as a rookie, as well as his appreciation of the Dustin Hoffman movie "Rain Man."^[1]

He played for the US national team in the 1994 FIBA World Championship in Toronto, winning the gold medal.^[2]

Kemp's career peaked in 1995-96, when he led the Sonics to a franchise-record 64 wins and their first NBA Finals appearance since 1979. They faced Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, who were coming off an NBA record 72 wins. The Sonics, however, managed to push the heavily-favored Bulls to six games before losing.

Because Kemp was signed long term into 2001 substantially below what other players were getting, Kemp demanded the Sonics restructure his contract. Many pointed out that Jim McIlvaine had signed a substantially larger contract. However, Kemp had signed his contract several years prior to McIlvaine's signing and the rapid rise of the average salaries in the NBA. At the time of the signing of Kemp's contract, the salary and length of the contract was comparable to other star players in the NBA. Nevertheless, the signing of McIlvaine enraged Sonics' fans, who were unhappy they denied the team's star forward a raise while giving a reserve such a large contract. McIlvaine had only averaged 2.3 points and 2.9 rebounds while playing 15 minutes per game in Washington. Kemp was outraged as well and was threatening to refuse to play in the upcoming season, and the resulting tension with management eventually led to a blockbuster three-team trade following the 1996-1997 season that sent Kemp to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks forward Vin Baker to the Sonics, and Terrell Brandon and Tyrone Hill from the Cavaliers to the Bucks.

Kemp played three seasons with the Cavaliers, where he battled weight problems and often appeared to lack the drive that made him such a force in Seattle. Despite this, he posted career-high numbers for points per game. He was then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers after the 1999-2000 season. The trade reunited Kemp with Bob Whitsitt, who had originally brought Kemp to Seattle. However, Kemp's play began to decline significantly. The last few years of Kemp's professional basketball career were riddled with problems stemming from his weight, as well as cocaine and alcohol abuse. His first season in Portland ended early when he entered drug rehabilitation.

After two disastrous seasons, the Blazers waived him. He was signed as a free agent for the Orlando Magic, but failed to contribute consistently and was out of the league at the end of the season.

[edit] Legal problems

On April 4, 2005 Shawn Kemp was arrested in Shoreline, Washington for an investigation of drug possession. Kemp along with another man were found with cocaine, about 60 grams of marijuana and a semiautomatic pistol, according to the King County Sheriff's Office. On April 29 Kemp was formally charged with drug possession and pleaded guilty.^[3] Kemp was again arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession in Houston, Texas on July 21, 2006.^[4]

As of 1998, Kemp had fathered seven children.^[5] This number is alleged to be even higher, resulting in Kemp being an easy target for commentators' jokes (including a story arc in the syndicated comic strip Tank McNamara the week of September 10, 2007). A similar reference was made during the episode titled " * " (Asterisk) of the TV series Law & Order.

[edit] NBA comeback attempts

In April of the 2005-06 NBA season, Kemp's NBA comeback chances looked promising^[6]. The eventual Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks considered adding Kemp to their roster in time for the NBA playoffs. Mavs' coach Avery Johnson scheduled a personal workout to take place in Houston, where Kemp trained for several months. However, Kemp failed to appear because of undisclosed reasons. The two parties tried to re-schedule a workout but the NBA refused to grant Dallas an injury exception (for a 16th player). Ultimately Kemp did not get a second chance to join the Mavs that season.^[7]

In June 2006, the Denver Post reported that Kemp had slimmed down to the playing weight of his all-star days and was determined to join an NBA team, possibly the Denver Nuggets, and finish his career "the right way."^[8] The Nuggets ultimately turned their attention away from Kemp, signing power forward Reggie Evans. Kemp drew some interest from the Chicago Bulls in September 2006, but missed his scheduled workout to visit an ailing relative instead.^[9]

Despite his most recent legal setback in July 2006, Kemp remains committed to his NBA comeback. Facing the media just days after his arrest, Kemp revealed his weight is down to 257 pounds, its lowest since 1998.^[10]

During halftime of a November 5, 2006 Sonics game, Kemp was announced as one of the 16 members of the Seattle SuperSonics' 40-year anniversary team. After having the longest ovation of all the players, Kemp said after the celebration that he will play with a team in Rome and is still considering a comeback to the NBA. Kemp, however, did not secure a position on an NBA roster during the 2006-07 season.

[edit] NBA statistics

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Shawn Kemp Info Page at NBA.com
• nba.com historical playerfile
• Shawn Kemp Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
• Reignman.com, official site
• sk40.com – Let It Reign, fan site

v • d • e United States squad - 1994 FIBA World Championship Champions - Gold medal 4 Dumars | 5 Price | 6 Coleman | 7 Kemp | 8 Smith | 9 Majerle | 10 Miller | 11 K.Johnson | 12 Wilkins | 13 O'Neal | 14 Mourning | 15 L.Johnson | Coach: Nelson